Meddle With Your Mind
by CommandoKitten
Summary: I love to write, but how can you ask people you know to judge you to a degree to where you'll improve? I put my own character into the town of Fell's Church. Please critique it. I honestly want to know what people think of my writing.
1. Chapter 1

Her ears twitched, sensing something she knew only she could hear. It's been like that for awhile; she can even sometimes hear what people are thinking. There it was! She heard it again. In her gut, it felt like a beckoning, a summoning or something, but she didn't know how to respond. She wanted to know what had been happening to her lately. She closed her eyes and concentrated on contacting whoever was trying to talk to her.

_Hello?_

"Ashlyn! Dinner is ready!"

Ash heard her step-mother, but chose to ignore her. It wasn't hard to reheat dinner in a microwave. I'll eat later, she thought, this is more important. She scrunched up her face and concentrated on blasting one thought out, praying that someone heard it.

She heard a response—well, felt it—in her mind. It felt like the essence of a smile or something. She couldn't explain it, but she knew that somehow, someone heard her—someone heard her call; someone wants to talk to her. But, what made her so special to receive a response?

Satisfied, Ash opened her eyes; the first thing she saw was her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes automatically traveled up to the two soft fox ears resting on her head. They were an icy blue color that matched the pale pigment of her skin perfectly. Her hair was cropped fairly short, very choppy, and almost white in color. The bottom of the short hair was colored an icy blue. Her hair was tied in a small pony tail, showing nothing but short, blue bangs. She pulled the long, bushy fox tail around her. In color and softness, it looked exactly like her hair: white with a blue end. Swirling around her tail were transparent, light blue tendrils. Ash had no idea what the transparent things were, and when she first noticed them, they frightened her, but she always just assumed they were the physical representation of her aura or something. She honestly had no clue, whatsoever.

Ash remembered the first time she noticed her fox-like appearances. It was a month after her dad had remarried to Katie. Katie is a skinny, prissy, lady in her mid-thirties, who, Ash was convinced, only married her father for the connections. Katie had always disliked Ash, but things really took a turn for the worse with them when the change occurred. Ash had gone out for a walk in the woods at their last house. Her and Katie had gotten into an argument, she Ash took a book and left. In the woods, Ash was clubbed in the head from behind and blacked out. When she woke up the next day, she had ears, a tail, and blue tipped hair. No one in her family could see the ears or the tail, but they noticed her hair. Katie spent hours dying Ash's hair back to its original color. Three hours after, the dye faded and the blue shined proudly. Katie was determined that Ash dyed her hair back just to mess with her.

"Ashlyn!"Ash jumped as the door sailed open and Katie stood in the hallway, her arms crossed. "Didn't you hear me ten minutes ago? Dinner is ready. Wash your hands. Now."

Ash stared at her step-mother, waiting for her to leave. Katie lifted her eye brows in an _are-you-kidding-I-don't-trust-you-for-a-second_ look. Ash rolled her eyes and groaned. This was ridiculous; it was just dinner for God's sake. But Ash stood up nonetheless and followed her down stairs for dinner.

When she walked downstairs, she received a dirty look from her brother and a sigh from her father, followed by a lecture from her Katie.

"Ashlyn, we've been waiting on you for ten minutes. I'm surprised we're all not famished by this point," she said as she dished out a hefty portion of mashed potatoes to herself. Ash looked around the small, ornate room, praying she was anywhere but here. She knew what would come next in the lecture. "And, gosh, Ashlyn, why did you dye your hair that ugly color? You were so beautiful before. George, tomorrow I'm taking her to the salon to dye her hair back to its original color. Don't give me that look, young lady! You are starting school next week, and it'll be hard enough being the new student, but having a weird hair color? You'll be miserable. Is there a decent salon in Fell's Church?" She directed the question to Ash's father.

He shrugged. "I'm not sure," he took a massive bite out of a roll and drank half of his milk before continuing. "I think there's one in the next town over. Ridgemont, I think."

Ash grabbed a hunk of meat and smacked it on her plate, the bone making a nice noise against the porcelain. She slammed spoonfuls of mashed potatoes, corn, and stuffing on her plate, and then started eating it as fast as she could. She wanted to get out of here.

"Don't eat so fast, Ashlyn," She glared at her step-mother. "And don't give me that look! You are a child, and you will respect me. George?"

"Katie, pick your battles. Ashlyn has had enough for one dinner."

Katie, Ash's step-mother, sighed and mumbled an apology. Ash raised her eyes in response, not believing for a second that she was actually sorry. Katie had always hated Ash, but after her hair changed color, Katie lost it. She assumed it was a good thing nobody could see her ears and her tail.

"Dad, can I go for a walk?" Ash asked. When her father looked down at the plate full of food, she hastily added, "I wasn't all that hungry." She heard a disapproving noise from Katie, but her father nodded and pointed at the clock with his fork, reminding Ash of her curfew.

"I want you home by ten," he said, "I don't know who's a creep around here, so don't talk to anyone who looks more than three years older than you," he thought it over and changed his mind. "Heck, just don't talk to anyone. And I don't know the streets, so bring your cell phone and a map, but call me if you get into any trouble, okay? Tomorrow we'll go venturing in town, deal?"

Ash nodded once, "Deal."

Ten minutes later, Ash was equipped with a map of the town, a cell phone, an iPod, beef jerky, and a flashlight, all of which were kept in a beat-up, old rucksack. She pulled on a pair of black and green roller blades and left her driveway, venturing out into Fell's Church for the first time. The warm wind felt nice against her face.

She wasn't expecting the town to be as busy as it was. There were people everywhere, but a majority of them were teenagers littering a local diner. There were a few shops, all of which were family owned, that lined the street, but what really caught her attention was a small candy shop which was, surprisingly, still open. Even with the diner right next to her, Ash could still smell the sweet sugar smell the wafted from those doors. She skated straight to the shop, nearly plowing down a middle-aged couple with a small tow-haired child who laughed.

"You'll have to take those off," a man behind the counter said. "With all these glass jars and windows and sticky floors, being on wheels seems like a bad idea." He smiled at her pleasantly.

"Well, I don't have any shoes on, I just have my skates."

He scratched his chin for a moment, contemplating her situation. "Well, I can't think of a single person who has died from having sticky feet, have you?"

"No, sir," Ash replied. She smiled.

He pointed at her with his rag and leaned on the counter. "I know every person in this town, yet I have never seen you before."

"I'm Ash. My dad moved into a house on Sunflower court."

"Ahh! Okay, I know where that is. I'm Mr. Honeycutt," he held out his hand and Ash shook it. "My son is around your age. Are you going to Robert E. Lee High School? I'll have him introduce you around. And, umm, about your shoe dilemma, I also run a sporting goods store across the way, open all week. Being new, maybe I'll give you a discount." He winked at her and continued cleaning the counter. "Have a look around, Ash, and I'll be here if you need anything."

Ash left her skates near the doors and walked on the sticky, laminated floors, eyeing all of the delicious sweets. The shelves were, for the most part, fully stocked, so she spent her time choosing wisely. She heard other people enter the shop. She looked over her shoulder, noticing the others in the shop were around her age.

There was a red haired girl who was looking at the candies like a young child would. She had a beautiful heart-shaped, pale face, and brown eyes that looked wide and innocent. She met eyes with Ash and smiled. Ash smiled back, glad that at least the girls weren't snotty. The red haired girl poked at a dark haired girl and pointed at Ash. The dark haired girl was tall with olive skin. Her face showed nothing but calmness and coolness. Ash couldn't decide whether she seemed mean or not. Definitely intimidating. There was a blonde haired girl with them too, talking to Mr. Honeycutt. Ash would have to analyze her later.

Ash went back to browsing the candy. She found what looked like homemade rock candy. She gasped and grinned, shoving handfuls of every color into a now bulging bag. Rock candy had always been her favorite candy. Her mother had first introduced it to her when she was in kindergarten. Ash missed her mother terribly, and the rock candy almost made her sad, thinking about her mother, but she couldn't help but leave with two and a half bags full of the stuff.

Ash stood in line behind the three girls. She stood a bit farther back. Though they seemed nice, Ash didn't want her first impression with them to be that she was some weird, young, candy-loving goon. The red haired girl popped a piece of bubblegum into her mouth and laughed as someone made a joke. Hopefully not about me, Ash thought. She self-consciously looked at her outfit, sighing in relief that she managed to wear something that wasn't weird. She also wiggled her nose, making sure she was booger-free.

"Okay, Mr. Honeycutt. Just tell him that I'll see him when school starts up. This weekend will be absurdly busy for me and Aunt Judith. Thank you!"

Ash stood against a counter as the trio of girls waltzed past her. The blonde girl was obviously the alpha of the group. She held her head high and looked down at Ash like an adult looks down on a child. She had beautiful, blue eyes, yet they disturbed Ash; they seemed to pierce her soul in that one glance. The red haired girl looked back at Ash one more time before turning the corner and heading back to town.

"Is that all you wanted?"

Ash's attention snapped back to the man at the counter. "Yes! Sorry." She placed her candy on the counter and handed him a twenty. "Hey, Mr. Honeycutt, who were those girls? Anyone I should be afraid of?"

Mr. Honeycutt laughed as he weighed her candy. "Elena? Not at all. She and my boy are friends. The other two with her were Bonnie, the red haired one, and Meredith," he took her money and typed the price on an ancient looking cash register. "Alright, twelve dollars and seventy two cents is your change. Great doing business with you, Ash. I hope to see you around more often."

"Will do Mr. Honeycutt!" Ash stuffed her candy in her rucksack and wrestled on her roller skates again. "And I think I'll take you up on your offer for some new shoes." Mr. Honeycutt laughed. "Thank you!"

"'Bye then, Ash."

Ash turned the corner and picked up momentum towards the park, which was a bit away from town. The streets calmed down some as the air become more and more humid. Ash checked her watch, happy that she still had an hour of freedom.

There were fewer lights at the park, which seemed more ominous, but it was still a park nonetheless, and Ash wanted nothing more than to skate around on the basketball courts. The gates were still open, thank God, Ash didn't think she'd be able to hop any fences tonight, and she glided inside, making no noise rather than the grinding of plastic wheels on concrete. The park had, what Ash assumed, a small, shady grass area, a plastic playground for children, one tennis court, and two basketball courts. When Ash looked out past the basketball courts, she could see the buildings of Robert E. Lee High School.

Why am I nervous, Ash asked herself. Her heartbeat picked up a little bit, and she felt like someone was watching her.

"That's ridiculous," she muttered to herself, "no one is here. Right? There isn't anyone here, is there?" she said the last question louder to reassure herself, she wasn't expecting an answer back.

"Well, if an assassin was here, they wouldn't answer you. That would be false reassurance, huh? Thinking no one was here when someone actually was."

Ash startled, lost her balance, and crashed onto the cement. She scuttled away from the voice and grabbed a tiny bottle of mace she kept on her keychain.

"Don't come closer! I have a weapon!" Ash saw a person move out from the inky darkness. She could tell it was a boy in the soft moonlight. She felt stupid and helpless on the ground. "Who are you?"

"I think the better question would be: would you like some help up?" He reached a hand out to her.

"I can get up myself, thank you," she answered. She managed to stand for only a moment before crashing to the ground again because of her skates. The boy chuckled and Ash glared at her skates. At least her nervousness was starting to evaporate; which seems strange, since she was in a dark park with an unknown boy and no one else is was around. She ripped off her skates and stood up.

She held out her mace at arm's length. "You never answered my question," she stated.

"Very true," the boy said. He clapped his hands together and started pacing in a circle. "But, who is a person really? I could spat out a name at random, and you'd believe that to be my identity in an instant. I can already feel you judging me now, isn't that right, Ashlyn Reeds?"

Ash stiffened. "How do you know my name?"

"That seems irrelevant at this time, Miss Ashlyn. You look like an ice fox, if there were such thing as an ice fox to exist at this point in time," Ash gasped. Could he see what no one else could? "I think it will take evolution centuries to turn foxes a blue color, don't you?"

"Who the hell are you?" Ash yelled. She held her mace with a tighter grip.

Ash heard the click of a lighter, turned quickly, and covered her face. She heard chuckles behind her. She turned her head and peeked between her fingers. The boy was holding a Zippo lighter, showing his identity to her. She uncovered his face and looked at him fully. He was a beautiful creature. His face showed Asian origins, but his clothes showed American living. His slim, Asian face was framed by short black hair with glowing red tips. Two red, fox ears were placed delicately on the top of his head, and a bushy, black fox tail, with a red tip, swayed elegantly behind him. There were a dozen or so red, transparent tails behind him.

He's like me, Ash thought. It took her a few moments to get her brain functioning enough to give her speech.

"Who _are _you?" She asked.

"I am Shinichi. I am a kitsune."


	2. Chapter 2

Ash lowered her arm to her side and stared at Shinichi. She was both very excited but very confused. She was excited to finally meet someone who could answer questions she had, but did she really want them answered? Could she accept whatever had happened to her so many years ago?

He looked stunning, standing there with such little light. He was staring around at the trees. Why wasn't he looking at her? Not that she wanted his undivided attention; it'd make her nervous as hell. But what _was_ he looking at?

Ash's mind was spewing out questions, one after another, but she was more interested on what Shin—sha—what was his name again? "How do you say your name again?"

"She-knee-she," he sounded out. He was still looking at the trees.

"What are you looking for?" Ash asked.

Shinichi shifted his attention back to her. "Out of all the questions to ask, you ask me what I'm looking at?" Ash shrugged, making Shinichi chuckle. "Very well, I'm watching out for any friends who might come and ruin our conversation."

"Are your friends usually like that?" Ash asked. "Who are you expecting?" She asked. She held her mace closer to herself and looked around, expecting a ninja or something to be standing behind her.

"There are people in particular that I'm not in position to associate myself with, one in particular. He's not so much a threat as an inconvenience."

"Will I have any 'inconveniences'?" Ash asked. She stepped closer to him, hoping to feel more secure.

"Depends," Shinichi answered. He was still staring up at the trees. Ash couldn't see anything, but Shinichi must see what she could not; his eyes bore into one particular clump of branches. "Kitsune don't usually make it at the top of everyone's friend list. We've got some bad history, but nothing you should worry about at this time."

At this time? Oh great, she thought, I'm going to become public enemy number one… like Danny Phantom.

"Not exactly," Shinichi said, "Like I said, it's nothing that you need to worry about—though that was a good reference. I loved that show."

"Not exactly what?" Ash asked.

"Nevermind."

"What are you looking at?" She asked.

"Hmm?" Shinichi was no longer paying any attention to Ash; he was completely fixated on that spot in the trees. Ash was about to ask the question again, when all of a sudden, Shinichi jumped and landed within the branches of an oak tree. Ash jumped back but stumbled over her roller blades and fell, landing painfully on her butt.

Ash looked up at the trees, but couldn't see anything. She heard snarls and saw the tree's branches moving, breaking, and falling, but that was it. There was a lot of cursing, and the sound of a fist hitting flesh was not uncommon. Ash just stared up at the tree, dumbly.

"Shinichi! What should I do?"

"Ashlyn, do you happen to have a light in that pack of yours?"

"A light?" She asked.

Shinichi grunted, cursed, and continued talking. "Yeah, you know, like a flashlight or a… lighter? It's awfully hard trying to fight something I can't—Ahh! Jesus! See! Something I can't see!" Ash flipped her backpack into her lap and searched for her flashlight. "Now, please, Ashlyn!" Shinichi yelled, trying to keep his anger under control.

"Hold on! I'm looking for it!" Ash felt the cold metal of her iPod in her backpack, the lumpy plastic of her candy, the paper of her map, and finally, the cool plastic of the flashlight. "I got it!" She jumped up and shined the light on the tree, looking for Shinichi. He was still fighting, but losing. A man had him pinned against the tree branch. "Hey! Leave him alone!" Ash grabbed some of her rock candy and chucked it at whoever Shinichi was fighting. The man stopped fighting for a moment and looked over at Ash.

Her heart skipped a beat. He was one of the most beautiful people she had ever seen. He had wavy, brown hair that looked as soft as Shinichi's ears, and his eyes were the richest green she could ever imagine. He narrowed his eyes at her and frowned. It almost made Ash sad to see those perfect lips in such an angry manner. Almost.

"Leave him alone!" She flung a rather large piece of candy, hitting the man in the face. He raised his eyebrows at her and sprung from the trees, lunging at her. She dropped down into something like a sitting fetal position, with her head between her knees. When she didn't feel him attack her, she looked up cautiously.

He was crouched right next to her, looking at her curiously. Up close, his face took Ash's breath away. He was completely unblemished, and pale, like a porcelain doll. His eyes bore into hers, making her lose her focus within the green sea that were his irises. He smelt like leather and some sort of cologne that smelt incredible. Or maybe it was deodorant she smelt. But did it really matter? He smelt like a god. He stood up and held out his hand. Ash just stared at him. He raised his eyebrows again, looked at his hand, then back at her. She took it and he pulled her up. His hands were somewhat cold; like the feeling of holding a glass of ice water in the heat. And wonderfully soft. She noticed a ring on his finger. It was silver and had a pretty blue stone embedded within it. Ash looked back up at his face and had the sudden urge to just snuggle up next to him for the rest of her life.

But despite that, she kicked him in the shins. He smiled at her. She glared at him.

"Don't hurt him. He's done nothing to you," she said. He just laughed. "I mean it!" She yelled.

"I know you do, Ashlyn." His voice was as smooth and velvety. Perfectly crafted into the voice every girl wants in a man. But he wasn't a man; he didn't look any older than a senior in high school.

"How the hell does everybody know my name?" Ash asked, stepping back.

"Does it matter?" Shinichi asked, perched in the tree. "You're as loud as a blow horn, both aura wise and by loudness."

Ash paid no attention to Shinichi; she wanted to know who this guy was, and why he kept looking at her. She just kept staring at him, hoping to intimidate him. Suddenly, he was gone. Ash blinked and rubbed her eyes. How could he not be there?

"He was right there!" she said. "Right? You saw him there. He was there!" Shinichi jumped down from the tree and walked over to Ash. She walked away from him and started buckling up her roller blades. "I'm going home. Maybe I'll wake up and relive this day as normally as I can." She stood up and rolled out of the park, back to her house.

Shinichi was jogging beside her.

"It's not a dream, Ashlyn, this is your reality. You are a kitsune, and you live in a world of mythological creatures: vampires, werewolves, witches—they all exist!" Shinichi was running now to keep up with her. "You can't run from this!"

"Just try me!" Ash shouted behind her.

Then he, too, vanished into thin air.


End file.
